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Project Overview
Location:
Poor Mountain, Roanoke County, Virginia
Projected Megawatts of
Energy (Estimate):
15-18 turbines, 37.5 MW to 45 MW
Average Households
Powered:
The equivalent of approximately 8,500 to
10,000 households in the Roanoke Valley
(based on direct electricity data from AEP
for Roanoke Valley homes).
Height of Turbines:
1)
To tip of blade= 443 ft (135m)
2)
Hub Height = 278 ft (85m)
Location
Benefits
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Poor Mountain-Bent
Mountain ridgeline has previously been
developed and hosts both TV and radio towers
that serve the Roanoke Valley and Southwest
Virginia.
Care will be taken to integrate
visual impacts into the existing visual
landscape.
The project can be designed in a way
as to minimize impacts to views from
neighbors and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
-
Existing Appalachian
Power transmission lines intersect the
proposed site; therefore interconnection
would result in minimal impacts to wildlife
due to habitat fragmentation.
-
Road access to the site
currently exists, resulting in minimal road
construction impacts.
-
The proposed project site is over
2000 acres. Preliminary site design suggests
turbines will be located a significant
distance from adjacent properties and
dwellings, thus minimizing or eliminating
the potential for sound or shadow flicker
issues.
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Economic
Benefits
Construction Benefits:
For every wind turbine constructed,
Invenergy spends approximately $200,000 on
local concrete, gravel, labor, and
miscellaneous items.
For a 37.5 MW project of this size,
this is a total of $3 million.
Short Term jobs:
A wind farm of
this size would generate 9-12 months of
employment for 50-100 positions.
Long Term jobs:
A wind farm of
this size would directly support 3 full time
salaried positions, with full benefits.
Typically, these positions would
include a site manager, site administrator,
and a technical position.
Local Revenues (taxes):
Invenergy is in the process of estimating
the local tax revenues in cooperation with
Roanoke County government.
In those Virginia localities where
local governments have approved wind farms,
the projected annual revenues to the
localities range from $200,000 (Highland) to
$600,000 (Wise) per year.
Environmental
and Community Benefits
Developing wind power in Virginia will
reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, reduce
CO2 emissions and conserve water. Every
kilowatt-hour generated by wind energy
displaces electricity that would have been
produced by burning fossil fuels (usually
coal or natural gas) – thereby reducing fuel
consumption and the resulting air pollution
that would have otherwise occurred.
Using the Roanoke
Valley Cool Cities carbon footprint
calculator, a wind facility of this size can
reduce carbon emissions by 98,000 tons per
year in Roanoke County. Additionally, while
conventional forms of electricity generation
(including nuclear energy) consume large
amounts of water, wind turbines require
minimal amounts of water to produce power.
Roanoke County's carbon emissions reduction
goal is 3% annually. This wind facility,
alone, would offset Roanoke County carbon
emissions by 5.4 to 6.5% per year, depending
on the final number of turbines. To put this
in perspective, this represents an offset of
emissions equivalent to that generated by
18,000 to 21,500 cars each year.
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